The Girl in The Iron Mask
by GangGreenGhost
Summary: Kala is an earthbender with an extra ability-to bend the iron in other people's blood. On the road to redemption she meets Bolin, who she falls for eventually, but the feeling isnt mutual. Her road has a few bumps and she falls back into her old ways. BOUGHT OVER FROM DEVIANTART. WRITTEN AND COMPLETED BEFORE THE SEASON ENDED.
1. Chapter 1

The mass of brown hair fell from her head, the sixteen year old having just released it from it's bun. She was more fortunate than most other orphans in Republic City, at least she had a job, a place to stay and no other siblings to watch out for. Her final shift at the end of the day was finally over and she had a few hours to sleep before the Pro-Bending matches started. Usually she was so tired at the end of the day she would sleep right through the roars of the crowds and she often had an adorable fire ferret to wake her up when the crowd was gone. Part of her job was to make sure that the arena was always stocked with equipment, fresh tablets for the other earth benders to earth bend during the matches, clean the water in the pool and keep the gym area and the bathrooms clean for the athletes.

But she knew that she couldn't go to sleep just yet, so she cracked open an anatomy book, more specifically the veins and arteries. "If one is losing large quantities of blood, then it is best to try and control the bleeding. One way to do this if there is something lodged in the human body that has caused a series wound, is to leave it in the body until it can surgically be removed" this is when the young earth bending girl dozed off, leaving a steady stream of saliva on the book. It was then she dreamed of her old life traveling with a band of evil benders, the exact sort that fuels the fire of the Equalist Movement.

She remembered all the people she killed for the sake of killing, and how dirty she felt afterwards. Sometimes, entire villages would fall to the group's bending only she would spare the children but their fire bending leader would often lecture her about it would be cruel to leave so many orphans. He was right of course, but she could just never bring herself to kill a child. She had her one wanted poster up, her in the red and gold dessert get up, her hair in two buns and an iron mask that glittered in light.

This time she was woken up by a familiar yet unwelcome face-Tahno of the Whitefalls Wolfbats. His deep voice said "Good morning sunshine" he tossed her a rag with fresh sweat on it "put this in the laundry..." he then smirked his trademark brown nosing grin "or you can keep it as a gift. I don't care". She hated Tahno, the arrogant asshole that always cheated yet somehow managed to pay off the refs so they don't call their fouls. But part of her deal with the owner was that she couldn't join the league or bad mouth the players. She lifted the dirty rag with her thumb and forefinger and went out to the Cobble or the Black Market of Republic City and sold it to one of Tahno's fans for two hundred yuoens.

The Iron Maiden of Yao Dai bought herself some dumplings and cabbage juice from the angry food vendor woman and waited in her living space (which was also the supply closet) for the cute fire ferret to come and tell her that the matches were over and she could start cleaning the arena and replace the earth bending tablets.

Meanwhile, Bolin was always wondering where Pabu would go after the matches, so this night he and Mako followed him. He kept scratching at the door to the supply closet, and stopped when they heard a girl's voice say "All right, all right little friend! I'm coming-" she stopped when she opened the door, clearly surprised to see two young men around her age standing there.

The older brother said "Hey I know you! You're the kid that works here and cleans everything right?"

"That's me..." she said shyly as Pabu climbed up her pants and onto her shoulders "He just comes and lets me know when the matches are over so I can replace and clean everything" she tore off a bit of dumpling and gave it to the fire ferret, who nibbled on it gleefully.

With a small chuckle, the younger brother said "He seems to like you..." he trailed off "we never got your name...I'm Bolin and this stiff over here is my older brother Mako!"

"I'm Kala" she said "It's very nice to meet you both!"

Bolin and Mako both laughed and Bolin said "Don't gotta be so formal with us! We're friends now!"

"Friends?" Kala looked confused "But we've only just met..."

"So?" he lifted Pabu off her shoulders and said "If Pabu likes you then we do too! It takes a while for him to warm up to new people so for him to cozy up to people so quickly you gotta be a nice person!"

"Speak for yourself, Bo" his brother coldly said, but he was just joking around "but I don't see why we can't give her a try" he winked at her, making her giggle.

"Hey! You wanna go for some noodles now?" Bolin asked.

"Sorry, but I gotta clean the arena and put new earth bending tablets in the slots..." she got her cart and put the needed supplies on it and wheeled it to the edge.

"I'll help ya!" Bolin said "It'll take less time if we work together!" he was about to earth bend a walkway for them to get to the ring but he remembered that it was mechanical and took forever to reach them.

"The quick way is much more fun" Kala smiled and she walked back a few steps and went on to a full run, sliding as the wall extended itself all the way to the ring.

Bolin laughed and said "You're an earth bender! Just like me! You should totally join the league!"

"I'd love to, but the boss wont let me. It's part of the deal I made with him- I get to sleep in the supply closet if I clean up the place and don't talk back to him and the pro-benders. That way he won't charge me rent..."

Bolin looked down and said "Oh...well, me and Mako live in the attic of this place! Mako works in the power plant supplying the city with electricity! We could ask to see if it's okay if you move in with us!"

"No, that's okay. I don't wanna impose more than I already do. I'm fine sleeping in the supply closet..." she gave him a sad smile.

"It just seems so cramped and cold in there...do you at least have a blanket to keep you warm?"

"I'm warm enough" she said as she put the last tablet in it's place and to her amazement, the job got done in half the time it took her to do it alone "So how about those noodles?"

At the noodle shop, they shared a good laugh and she said "So tell me about yourself; how'd you end up at the Pro-Bending game?"

"Me and my brother lost our parents ten years ago to a fire bender after he mugged them. After that we spent alot of time on the streets doing odd jobs for the Triple Threat Triad. Mostly running numbers and extra muscle stuff. Then the boss found us in a fight and wanted us to join the league. How about you?"

"I lost my parents when I was ten. Then I started traveling with-" she chose her next words carefully "the Angi Kais till about a year ago. They had me doing some cage bending and what not" she sipped up her noodles so she wouldn't have to talk about her old life anymore.

"Cage bending? What's that?"

"It's exactly like Pro-Bending, but there are no rules. Two people keep fighting till one of them knocks out or dies" she hated that she was lying to him, but she had to keep her secret.

"Sheesh..." he said "D-did you ever..."

"Kill anybody? No. Just knocked their noggin's around a few times" she giggled.

When the waiter came by for the bill, Bolin took out some money and paid it. "I got it. The man's supposed to pay for the lady!"

"You didn't have to. I have my own money" she took out her remaining cash and tried to offer it to him.

"No, I'd feel bad if I took your money..."

"And I'd feel like a moocher if I didn't give it to you" she said and thrust it in his face "Now take it!"

"No!" Bolin said "I'm not takin' money from a girl!"

That same unwelcome voice from earlier popped in with "I'd take your money, Cleaning Lady but you'd have to do something for me first" this caused Kala to grit her teeth and take it in silence.

"Shut up Tahno! This isn't any of your business!" Bolin shouted.

"What?" said the raven haired asshole "She's offering you money to do it with her probably the little-" his blood began to harden and something metal began poking through the skin. Most of the patrons were all shocked to see the great Tahno on his knees struggling to breathe.

"Finish that sentence you little shit...I dare ya..." Kala was in stance with her fist clenched and the eyes of a dead person flashing through.

Bolin looked at her and realized that she was doing this "Stop it!" he grabbed her waist and lifted her off the ground, releasing Tahno from her hold.

The clearly frightened water bender backed away "You're a freak! Just wait till Botaku hears about this!" he then ran off with his tail between his legs like a whipped dog.

Bolin let her down with "What did you do to him?"

"I have a little extra thing I can do...I can bend the iron in peoples blood and make it do what I want it to..." she then collapsed in his arms "but it leaves me anemic..." he carried her back to her closet, where her cot was laid out between a shelf and the wall. She was very cold to the touch and the blanket she spoke of was a thin sheet with holes in it. She shivered in his grasp, and he decidedly took her up to his bed and cuddled with her.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Sharing my body heat with you...what's it look like?"

"Looks like we just had fooled around and now it's the afterglow" she said sarcastically.

"Shut up woman" he said, wrapping his strong arm around her "You're sick and it'd be uncool of me to leave ya there and freeze."

"Why are ya being so nice to me?" she clutched onto his undershirt.

"Cause you're my friend...and friends are always nice to each other right?"

"Yeah" she blushed slightly and fell asleep in his arms.

Then everything changed when Avatar Korra came around. Amon started rounding up benders and taking away their bending, Mako started dating Asami, but worst of all Bolin turned his attention to Korra. However, he always included Kala on their outings yet he barely paid any attention to her when they were with Korra. Though the small belching contest was quite hilarious to watch. She had that small token of happiness in the few months of being ignored.

Later that night when she came back to her closet, she found an even more unwelcome guest "Tali..." the water bender in his late teens smiled wickedly at her as he used a gentle water whip to bring her closer together.

"Long time, no see" he placed a rough kiss on her lips, so hard it made her bleed a little "Iron Maiden..."

"Don't call me that" she slammed her fist into the wall "I abandoned that name along with Saki's group more than a year ago!"

"It looks like old habits die hard though...I saw that little spat you had with that Tahno jerk. Sorry excuse for a water bender that one" he let loose his hair that was in a wolf tail-just like Korra's.

"How long have you been spying on me?" she glared at him.

"Long enough to see that you've been getting close to a certain young earth bender...frankly I'm jealous...might be jealous enough to freeze his insides..."

"Dont you dare! What's your business here, Tali?!"

"I came to offer you re-admittance into our fair troupe...Saki has forgiven you for your betrayal and wants you home..."

"I AM home! Now get out!"

"Fine" Tali took up his things and was about to leave "I erased the no good water bender and the earth bender's memories for you, so your secret is safe for now. When you're finished feeling like the third wheel, you know where to find us" he then left.

With the semi-finals just a few days away, Bolin was hanging out with Kala in town when he said "Hey you're a girl right?"

With an irradiated look she said "Last time I checked, yeah..."

"Okay stupid question, but my point is I wanna ask Korra out and I wanted your opinion on what do get her!"

"Uhhh..." she smiled and blushed a bit "If you were to ask ME out...I guess I'd like some pink roses!" she pointed to the flowers in the window at the flower shop.

"Great idea!" he purchased the flowers and gave her one "for the idea and your support through all this mess" he winked at her, and she just hoped he got the hint.

Later that night, she went to the noodle shop to pick up dumplings when she saw her friend a sobbing mess over five empty bowls stacked up on top of one another. "Bo? Are you alright?"

He looked up at her with sunken eyes and was blathering on about nothing but she caught that Bolin had seen Korra and Mako kissing. "Hey barkeep!" she called to the owner of the noodle shop.

"Yes, young lady?" he said.

"What do you make these noodles with?"

"Diluted cactus juice, though it doesn't help much when one consumes as much as Bolin did. Poor kid's a mess..."

Then the boy went on to cry about how nobody loves him, and Kala was fighting the urge to grab him by his collar and ensnare him in a passionate kiss. The urge passed quickly as she spied a green noodle coming from Bolin's nose. "Stay here and I'll go and get Mako..." this was the last thing she said to him before the final match in the tournament.

As the ring exploded into a million pieces, Bolin was climbing the posts to get a better look so he could assess the damage being done to the people. Just as he got up to the top and pulled himself up, the ring exploded and pieces of the metal shot at him and wedged themselves between his ribs. "BOLIN!" Mako said, the flash of light came and went. The next thing he saw his heart sank to the bottom of his belly, he didn't even feel the tears fall from his face "Bo..."

Kala of course attended the finals to support her friends (and to see Tahno get what's coming to him) and she was horrified to see the impaled Bolin on the bottom of the ring. "No, no, no..." she thought back to the book she was reading so long ago and what it said about controlling the bleeding with something stuck in you. She saw Korra try to pull out the piece of metal, but she earth bended her out of the way with "Are you stupid?! That's the only thing controlling the bleeding!"

"He may have punctured a lung! He need medical help now!" Korra shot back.

"If he punctured a lung, then we'd hear a sucking sound and his breathing would be irregular!" they both listened closely and no such sound was heard. She looked up at Mako and said "Make yourself useful and cauterize the wound around the piece of metal!"

"What good would that do?!" he yelled at her "Why do you want me to hurt my brother!"

"Because burns don't bleed! He'll need to get it cleaned out later..." she held one side of Bolin down while Korra held down the other side, Mako closed his eyes as he gently worked his fire tipped fingers around the piece of metal.

Kala pushed her fist up to the wound and a dark substance came out "That is lead...it's very poisonous when it gets in the blood..." when all was said and done, the hospital surgically removed the piece of metal and Bolin was allowed visitors one at a time. The last to go was Kala, stroking the side of Bolin's face.

Her belly began to flutter with the butterflies when she finally admitted "I love you, Bolin..."

His weak hand reached up and touched her cheek, a weak smile coming across his face "I love you too, Korra..."

This was the breaking point for her as she bit her lip and ran out, almost crying. She went to the statue of Fire Lord Zuko and under it was Tali "You ready to come back home?"  
He extended her iron mask to her and she took it without hesitation.

"The Iron Maiden of Yao Dai is back, baby" her eyes from then on were permanently dead.


	2. Chapter 2

Why was it always this dream?

_The field of fire lilies was vast on the farm, their brilliant colors making the ground look as if they were on fire. The man with the smiling face, that put her at ease. The woman with a swollen belly laying on her back in a bed of lilies. Then there was a stream they could swim in. Though the eyes of the child, this was paradise. The child was about six, just learning to polar bear dog paddle for swimming. Then the scary man came- he turned the field into real fire. The man burned the smiling man, then shot lightning through the lady with the swollen belly. With a quick motion, he grabbed her and took her away._

Kang Chi shook her awake, the young fire bender having regulated the sleeping Kala's body temperature with bending to keep her from over heating. "Had the dream again, didn't you?" she tossed Kala a dirty cloth to wipe off her sweaty brow. The fire bender's hair was up in a braided bun, black as night. Her orange-red eyes seemed like they glowed softly against the moon light, her grey tunic and trousers dissolving into the night.

"How'd you guess?" Kala said, the dirt smudging her face.

"Oh I'd say calling out to the 'lady with the swollen belly' and 'the smiling man' gave me a hint" Kang Chi doused the earth bender in cold water.

"What was that for?!" Kala hissed, the hair sticking to her body.

"To cool you off" the fire bender said "we move out of the city in a few days. Any scores you wanna settle before we leave for the Fire Nation?"

Kala contemplated getting back at Bolin for breaking her heart, thinking she could kill his brother and his precious Korra. But she couldn't bear the look of despair on his face so she went for the next best thing. "I know a certain water bender that got on my nerves alot..." then another thought came to mind and said "hey why do you wear boy's clothes?"

"Cause dresses and all that crap get in the way of fighting. Remember a few years back when I accidentally set your skirt on fire? That's why" Kang Chi simply put, igniting one of her fingers on fire. She did this when she was bored, snapping her fingers and fire bending a small flame on the tip. She then remembered something herself and handed her a parcel wrapped up in paper "Can't be the Iron Maiden without this!" inside the paper was her old iron mask, perfectly formed to fit her face comfortably. Kala held it at arms length and studied the shallow cuts she got from her constant battles. She then put it on, the thing feeling like a long lost friend.

Back at the hospital, Bolin was recovering nicely with the scar barely noticeable on his belly. The doctor looked at it and smiled "Not a sign of infection! That is very good!" the elderly man took his glasses off and cleaned them with a wipe. "Miss Kala still has what it takes to be a great doctor some day!"

Mako looked up and said "She wants to be a doctor? Then why isn't she an apprentice here?"

"Young Miss Kala lost her parents at a young age, about six I believe" the doctor pulled out a picture of a happy family: a smiling man, a pregnant woman and a young child with a few missing teeth. "They lived in a shack just outside the colony of Yao Dai, where the fire lilies grew once. They didn't have much, but they had each other."

Korra looked concerned when he said that her parents were killed by a fire bender. It seemed that everybody's family was being killed by a fire bender these days. This struck a chord with the brothers, their parents having shared the same fate. "Did she know that she was an earth bender?"

"Indeed she did" the doctor placed his spectacles on his face again "she was looking for ways to incorporate earth bending into medical practices and she found that by manipulating the iron in one's blood she could determine an illness and search for the cure. Everything changed when she was taken away...to THAT place..." even the doctor shuttered.

"That place?" Bolin repeated.

"The Boiling Rock. The old fire nation prison turned orphanage...thank goodness they tore it down..."

"She was in the Boiling Rock?!" Mako said, his emotions turning to panic. "Most kids that came out of there went insane and joined groups of evil benders!"

"Yes...it was only a year ago that we reunited, even though she didn't remember me" he took out a stack of books and laid them on the table "I've been keeping an eye on her just in case, but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary...until a few days ago when she ran out of your room crying" he gave Bolin a stern look.

"What was she crying about?"

"I was outside the hall and I overheard her confess her love for you, but then you called her Korra after you said 'I love you too'."

Bolin's heart sank "Oh crap..."

Tahno walked down the hall to Bolin's room, looking like he was in shambles after his bending was taken away. He had a steaming bowl of Bolin's favorite dumplings covered with a clean linen to keep them warm "Um...is this a bad time?"

"About as good a time as any I guess" Bolin got up and put his tunic back on "thanks for the dumplings..."

"Welcome" said the former water bender in a monotone voice. "Hey have you seen Cleaning Lady lately? Everything's all dusty in the arena since the explosion..."

"She has a name, you know!" Asami said, staying quiet this whole time. The shock of her father being an Equalist still settling in.

"I never really cared enough to ask..." Tahno hung his head low, feeling that he was always a dick to everybody. He had much apologizing to do and now he didn't have to train for the league, he had all the time in the world. "I'm such an ass..."

Mako butted in with "Did you check her supply closet? She lives in there". Just then, Pabu came prancing in with a rolled up piece of paper in his mouth. Mako took it out and unrolled it for everyone to see. It was the wanted poster for The Iron Maiden of Yao Dai, brushed on with paint because they had no photos of her.

WANTED FOR MURDER, THEFT, ARSON AND ASSAULT. SUSPECTED MEMBER OF BODY BENDER CRIMINAL GROUP. REWARD FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND YEONS. DO NOT APPROACH IF SEEN, INFORM CHEIF BEIFONG IMMEDIATELY.

Bolin stared in disbelief "You don't think..."

Mako looked at his brother "Yes, Bo. You made a cold-blooded killer your friend. You made her have a crush on you then broke her heart. You've just made us all potential targets!" Bolin winced at his brother's correct accusations, he kinda knew Kala had a crush on him but never had the heart to tell her that he thought of her as just a good friend.

"B-but...Pabu was all over her! That must mean she's changed right?"

"Maybe, but it's hard to say how many lives she destroyed...I forbid you to go find her" Mako said, matter of fact.

"I have to Mako! To try and apologize for hurting her feelings...and to save her from herself" Bolin walked out, determined to find his friend. Soon Tahno left too and the others were helping Bolin look for their friend.

"I still say this is a bad idea Bo, but I'd rather be here if things go bad" Mako told him while they split up in pairs.

"I know, and I appreciate your help...I just wanna give her a chance to explain herself. There's always more than one side to every story Mako" he gave his elder brother a soft, sad smile.

Tahno went to his home, even this wasn't the same after he lost his bending. The three trophies on his mantel now only collected dust and cobwebs, he looked at them with disgust in himself and placed them in boxes to be shipped to the real winners of those final matches. They deserved to be with real winners, not ones who cheated to get them. Then, in the silence of the still night a soft clapping sound was heard from his couch. "So the Great Tahno finally falls...and how noble of you to give those trophies to the real winners, but I must ask...what happened to the money you 'won' from your matches? Are you going to return that too, or have you spent it all already?"

"Kala...I'm sorry..." was all he could manage to say.

"You learned my name too? That was thoughtful of you, Tahno" she made a fist and pulled back on it. Tahno fell to his knees, the sensation of his blood hardening and obstructing the flow of oxygen to the brain was familiar, yet never this intense "but there's nobody to save you now..." Kala felt the surge of adrenaline in her, focusing only on Tahno and his fading sense of reality. She was so focused on Tahno, she didn't even hear Mako come in until he grabbed her and hoisted her onto his shoulders.

"Think again Maiden" he said coldly, so cold that it seemed foreign even to himself.

"Where are you taking me?!" she demanded, but in her current state of anemia she was too weak to put up much of a fight.

"To the Police Station...but first, I'm takin' you to see my brother. He's got somethin' to say and you do too. Can't be a lone wolf forever Kala..."

To this, Kala grinned and said "From what I know, wolves travel in packs" then a fire blast came from their left and the fire bending female known as Kang Chi showed up ready to fight.

"Need us to save your ass again, Kala?" she mocked her younger teammate "Haven't gotten rusty on us have you?"

"Shut up! You know I'm useless after I bend the iron is someone's blood!" she shot back.

Then, Mako shot a fire ball into the sky and it burst like a bomb, making the entire city glow for a few seconds. This was a signal to have the others come out of their hiding places and help him fight. Bolin and Korra flanked Kang Chi on both sides, but Bolin was knocked off balance by a water blast from the ever present Tali, the eighteen year old water bender. "No that's no way to treat a lady..." the then froze the water around Bolin, keeping him in place. He tossed Kala a strip of dried red meat and she gobbled it down.

Mako snarled "I only see one lady here and that's Kala!" he geared up to shoot a lightning bolt at Tali, but an older man's voice came from the alley along with a distinct sobbing sound. Both figures came into the light, a middle aged fire bending man with a bloodied Asami Sato in tow "Get. Away. From. My. Girlfriend." Mako warned, his rage about to boil over.

Asami only crumbled in the old man's grasp as he tightened his grip on her neck. "It's been a while, Pointy Brows...remember me?"

Asami worked her mouth above his grip and shouted "He's the one that killed my mother!"

Mako didn't even have to think, just imagine this man about ten years younger and with darker hair. "YOU!" all reason and sanity fell down from Mako's being and he attacked blindly. The older fire bender threw the girl down and started fighting with Mako, flames and lightning all around the alley spurted from all directions. Finally with the help of Bolin knocking the older fire bender off balance with a slight shift in the ground, the two were towering above him. "You will fucking pay for what you did!"

With a fresh bolt of lightning coming at him, the elder fire bender actually showed a spark of fear. But a slab of earth came up from the ground to deflect the lightning, sending it in another direction. Korra's horrified voice came from behind them "ASAMI!" they both quickly turned around to see a stunned Asami Sato, a new burn mark on her neck and shoulder.

With a hateful glare, Bolin looked over to Kala, only to see that she was just as stunned as they were. "Don't look at me! I'm still too weak to even make a pebble float!" which was true. She was using the wall for support, too weak to even stand on her own. From the nearest building, a young man walked out that looked just like Asami.

In a low, rolling voice he said "Hello, Sister dear..."

"A-akira...?" the weakening Asami said as she fell into her brother's arms "Y-you're dead...you died with Mom!"

"No, no...that's just what Daddy Dearest told you when he found out I was an earth bender. He really sent me to the damn orphanage in the Fire Nation...used to be the Boiling Rock...that Hell Hole messed us all up real good...only Saki here understood us, and saved us all from that place..." he brushed his sister's cheek softly and said "we're twins after all. I thought you'd sense me here..." he then tossed her to the ground to die the death of a dog.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Mako roared as he attacked Akira, but he was cut off by Kala earth bending rocks around his feet making him unable to move. "LET GO OF ME!"

"Not until you calm down! The bolt missed her heart so she's not gonna die instantly but if you get her medical attention too late it'll get infected!" she tossed a balm at his feet "Rub some of that on the wound for now and it'll be sealed from outside germs!" Mako took some deep breaths and he calmed down, his face never twisting away from the hatred.

Akira laughed mockingly and asked "Why do you help these...people? They haven't done a single nice thing for you the entire night."

Kala stopped in front of Bolin, who was in utter shock and hurt emotionally and physically. "For the sake of our former friendship...this will be the only encounter that I will save your lives...if we ever do battle again, I will kill you or die trying" she reached her fingers under the mask and lifted it up to reveal the face of his friend, but her green eyes no longer had the light of life in them, just dull and clouded over-just like a corpses "do you understand?"

He only nodded an affirmative answer and she started walking with her "family" away. Bolin caught her by the arm and said "No matter what kind of life you've known...there's always light in the darkness...you just have to find it..."

To this she grit her teeth and said "I have found my light, but just like everything else in this world...it died..." his breath was cut off and she left with her "family". He knew what her light was, and felt ashamed that he didn't see it for himself when he had the chance.


	3. Chapter 3

The hospital was becoming a second home for the group, Tahno being treated for mild brain damage and Asami just getting out of surgery. The doctor took off his scrubs and medical mask, the exhaustion on his face reading like an open book. Mako had gotten no sleep the past few hours "How's Asami Doc?" Korra nudged Bolin awake, Pabu sitting on his lap with his little head on Bolin's knee.

"She's recovering from surgery..." he washed the blood from his hands and sanitized thoroughly "We couldn't save her arm though...the electrical burn penetrated all the way to the bone."

"Wait...Asami lost an arm?!" Bolin said, feeling terrible about having to insist on finding his friend.

"Yes" the doctor said solemnly "but that balm Miss Kala gave you prevented infection. Now we're just giving Miss Asami some fluids to replace ones that she lost."

"WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?!" the voice of an enraged Hiroshi Sato boomed through the hall, making the windows shake.

"Will you please be quiet" the doctor asked "this is a hospital and my patients need quiet to rest. Your daughter will live, she is out of surgery and will not see any visitors at this time" he gave the other man a stern look.

Hiroshi looked over to the benders and demanded "What are THEY doing here?! They're probably the ones who put my baby in the hospital!"

Mako had just about enough of his accusations and said "No, you have your son Akira to thank for that!"

Then Hiroshi Sato's resolved turned to fear "I-I have no son! I only had my daughter with my wife!"

"You had twins! When you found out the boy was a bender, you had him sent away to a pit of hell! It would have been less evil to have him killed!" Korra said, standing next to Mako defiantly.

Then a weak female voice came from the doorway "Keep it down, Daddy...I wanna sleep..." the nub was wrapped in a bloody bandage, the patient shaking slightly. All they could do was have their breath taken from their lungs. The doctor, having been used to seeing such deformities quickly ushered her back to her bed and explained that she should not be up yet.

"Miss Korra, would you mind assisting me with changing the dressings?" the doctor asked of her.

"S-sure..." Korra took off her coat and laid it on the chair, but Hiroshi took her arm roughly. "Hey! Let go!"

He released her, practically tossing her to the ground, then turning an angry eye to the doctor "Lei, why do you treat these..." he curled up his mouth in disgust "benders...along with non-benders who need it more than they do?"

Lei sighed heavily and said "Because no matter if one is a bender or not, we all look the same on the inside. Believe me, I've preformed enough autopsies to know" he said coldly "Including your wife."

This caused Hiroshi to twitch angrily, but his old friend was right. "Is there anything we can do to help my daughter?"

"You recall my son, Han?" Lei said, as he took out plans for a new machine.

"The young mechanical genius? Yes, a nice non-bender about Asami's age!" Hiroshi looked back at Mako mockingly.

"Don't get yourself in a tizzy Hiroshi. You know my son prefers the male figure" he let a soft chuckle escape his lips as he let Korra in to prepare for the procedure. "Anyway, take a look at this..." he handed Hiroshi a piece of paper and it was very detailed.

"This...this is a mechanical arm!" Hiroshi said studying the plans. "How does it work?"

Then, a shy young man with silver rimmed glasses spoke up "Um...I would be better to explain that, Mr. Sato..." the young man's yellow eyes met the older man's with a slight smile.

"If you please, Han."

"I need to make a base where it will be attached to the shoulder and multiple other parts- one for the upper arm and one for the lower arm. I also need to make parts for the hand and finger joints. Theoretically, they will be able to move like a normal arm if I install the ball and pivot and hinge joints" he then took out a wooden prototype and demonstrated the range of motion.

Bolin was uncharacteristically quiet until he asked "And how will it move on it's own?"

"That's an interesting question! Father's research has concluded that the nervous system sends electrical impulses through things he calls the nerves which also process sensations such as being tickled or pain. The base will have a series of small batteries that transfer the brain's wishes to reality" then Mako took a closer look at the plans.

"That looks like those gloves the Equalists use!"

Han glared at Hiroshi and said "Indeed. If I knew my plans were being used to hurt people I would not have presented them to Mr. Sato..."

"And if I knew you'd be..." he stopped then continued "preferring the male form, I wouldn't have been trying so hard to push you and my daughter to become a couple..."

"Please. If my father can accept me being homosexual, then you can accept Asami being with a fire bender" he then gave a friendly wink to Mako, causing all three of the benders to giggle.

"Getting back to the point, when can you have all the parts assembled?"

"By the time the nub has scabbed over" Han said. I just need a few weeks to assemble the final product. But first thing's first, I must take Asami's measurements of her remaining arm" he went in with a measuring tape and recorded his measurements. "I highly suggest she be kept here until your...business is settled elsewhere."

On the road, Kala kept looking at Akira and she steered her Ostrich Horse next to Saki "So when did you pick up the newbie?"

Saki smirked and said "About a month after you left us. You earth benders are a dime a dozen, but with benders like you and him in our ranks we'll be unstoppable..."

"What's so special about him? Other than being the heir to the Sato legacy?"

"Why don't I just show you, Maiden?" Akira snickered as they all heard a distinct cracking sound before Kala was thrown to the ground, the Ostrich Horse collapsing and letting out horrible screams.

The frightened Kala kneeled beside of the animal and examined it's legs. "It's legs are broken!"

"That would be because I can bend the calcium on bones, Maiden" he winked at her as she charged him.

"Why?! It's an animal with feelings and pain! It can't be good or evil, it just does what humans tell them to do! Why?!"

He took her face in his hands and said "Would you rather have me break YOUR bones, Maiden?"

A shiver went down her spine and she whispered "No..."

"Didn't think so, Maiden..." he hoisted her up onto his Ostrich Horse in front of him.

After a few minutes of silence, Kala asked him "You know what we're going to the Fire Nation for?"

"Saki needs to strike a deal with a client" he smirked.

"Since when are we 'hired help'?"

"Since this client is going to put millions of yeouns in our pockets..." he brushed her hair away from her mask and caressed her neck lovingly "and you will make me a fine wife~"

"What makes you think I'll marry a guy I just met?"

"Because if you don't..." his lips lightly brushed her neck "I'll break every bone in that Bushy Brow's body..." he slipped a rose quartz ring on her finger. All Kala could do is hang her head in defeat.

Tali scoffed behind them "She ain't that good of a kisser Akira! I kissed her back in the city just to piss her off and she wouldn't even give me tongue!"

"She'll learn" Akira told him "I'm a great teacher" to this everybody, even Kang Chi laughed.

"Why do you wanna marry Kala of all people?! It's not like she's pretty or anything!" the fire bending female said.

"Because together, our children will be bred to be real killers" a flood of rage surged through her blood. Her intent to kill was rising, but she had to practice patience.

In the weeks it took to track the group to the Fire Nation. They had caught glimpses of them from a distance but they were too far away. They eventually came to a volcano with a prison in the middle of the boiling lake "The Rock's still here!" Korra whispered "I thought the Doc said it was torn down!"

"Maybe that's just what was reported" Mako said, then pointed to the entrance "there they are!"

Amon was waiting in the foyer with the Lieutenant and a select group of chi blockers. His business associate was right on time, as promised with his entourage of evil benders. Removing his mask, his face was surprisingly normal. He had told his followers that he was burned by a fire bender, but that was a lie. Kala backed away fearfully and said "Why are we doing business with HIM?!"

Saki looked back and scowled "Stupid girl. Isn't it obvious? We cause trouble with non benders, and it just fuels his campaign. He uses some of that money to hire people like us and the whole cycle starts all over again" Amon handed over the sack of money whle the rest of them counted it to make sure that things were as they should.

Taki looked up and said "It's all here Saki!"

"It's a pleasure doing business with you Amon" the elderly fire bender shook Amon's hand "Let's hope our future dealings go this well!"

Amon slipped his mask back on and said "Unfortunately, we will not be having anymore future dealings" the entire group stiffened up and prepared to fight. "You see, since the Avatar is stirring things up for me, I won't be needing you anymore and I can't have any loose ends" then big metal giants began to glow in the background and move with rigid motions.

Kang Chi jumped back and shouted "What the Hell are those?!"

"These my dear are Mechs...with much thanks to my richest associate Mr. Sato. They are manned by a single person inside them" both Akira and Kala took earth bending stances, and both were surprised when the things wouldn't budge. "Don't bother. They're made of platinum-a metal too hard for even Lin Beifong to bend. She's tried" the machines shot metal cables everywhere, and the evil benders were being thrashed about.

Within minutes, most of them were dead. Even Saki, who tried to throw lighting at them. Amon approached Akira's body, because he was the first to die. "It seems that his ability to bend the calcium in one's bones caused his own to be so brittle..."

By the time Mako, Korra and Bolin got there it was a massacre. The only person that remained alive was Kala, only because Amon saved her for last. "You tried to live without killing people, without bending...and I commend you for that. But you have fallen off the train and you must pay..."

The bloodied Kala was lifted off the ground by the claws of the Mech and she sputtered "W-what are you going to do?! Take my bending away?! Kill me?! Do your worst! It's what I deserve!"

Bolin couldn't take any more garbage from her mouth "Everybody deserves a second chance! All they gotta do is grab it!"

"When did you guys get here?!" she shouted to them.

Mako slid down the wall with Korra and said "We've been tracking you the entire time! We're trying to save you from yourself!"

"I don't want to be saved! All those people I've killed...all those orphans I made...dying is the only way I can atone and go to my place in Hell!"

"We're saving you weather you want to or not!" Bolin climbed the leg of the Mech.

"Why?! I nearly killed Tahno, helped them hurt Asami and betrayed your trust! What makes you think that I'm asking for forgiveness?!"

Bolin ripped off the iron mask hiding her face and tossed it to the ground, shattering into pieces. "That's what friends do! They forgive each other!" Meanwhile, the other claw of the Mech quickly reached under her and pulled her right leg sharply. The girl let out a scream of pain unlike any other, the tears of pain erasing the dirt stains from her face, leaving streaks on her skin. The leg just dangled there and the thing just tossed her aside.

"Kala!" Bolin dropped down, picked her up and ran "Everybody just run! The whole place is about to collapse into the lake!" they did as they were told and slid down the face of the volcano and onto Naga who was waiting at the bottom of the volcano. A few days away from Republic City, Tenzin came flying on his Sky Bison with news.

"There has been some unrest within the City, and it's boiled over into the Earth Kingdom. My brother Bumi sent me word that anti-bending sentiments have been escalating since the Mechs showed up with Amon in Omashu a week ago. They've been rounding up benders and taking away their bending..." with a concerned look, he said "You all are tired, and Kala is wounded. Rest up at Air Temple Island a few days and see to her leg..."

That night, Kala had the dream again. She woke up with Bolin cuddling with her "What are you doing this time?"

"Trying to comfort you..." he brushed away the dried tears from her face "I'm sorry I made you think that I...like you like that...but I do like you as a friend!"

"I can live with that" she said, and explained what Akira wanted to do with her "I'm through with romance for a long, long time."

"So just good friends?" he extended his pinky and she took it.

"Just GREAT friends" they both smiled at each other and rolled over to their respective sides of the cot.


	4. Chapter 4

A few days passed when Doctor Lei came to Air Temple Island with his son Han to make a few house calls. Lei touched her leg tenderly to gauge the damage, taking special care not to cause even more pain. The warm compress felt good against the muscle and it started to unwind. "So how bad is it?" Kala asked, leaning all of her weight on her arms and waiting for the doctor's answer.

"It's only dislocated" he moved the curtain back and called for his son "Han, come out here and help me pop her leg back in place please" he gently laid Kala on her side and held her down while Han grabbed her leg, putting it under his armpit and gave it a quick push up. They heard a loud popping sound and Kala let out a groan of pain and relief. "Feel better?" the doctor asked.

"A little..." she could now get up and walk around where she could only lie in bed waiting for somebody to come and bring her food or keep her company. Asami came in most, showing off her new mechanical arm. She was proud of it, thinking that she could incorporate it with the shock glove that the Equalists used. This day however was different, Bolin came in and gave her some dumplings he made himself.

"They're not as good as Mako's but they'll do" he smiled softly at her and she ate them none the less. Again, Bolin was being uncharacteristically quiet and he looked down, as if shy.

"Alright, Bo what's wrong?" Kala gnawed on her dumplings and set the bowl aside.

"What? Nothing's wrong!" he gave a nervous laugh as she looked at him with a disapproving look.

"Well...Mako, Asami, Korra and I are gonna start doing vigilante justice since the police aren't doing squat" he nervously twittled his thumbs together.

"Cool! When do we go?" Kala said excitedly.

This time, Mako came in with "WE go tonight, YOU will be staying here" he looked sternly at her.

"But the doctor said it was okay for me to do my normal routine! I've been cooped up here long enough!"

Mako sighed and said "That's not what we're concerned about. It's because of your past and your former associates..."

"I get it...you think that I'll kill somebody without a second thought..." her expression darkened and Bolin tried to comfort her.

"N-no! We just want you to relax until-"

"Until when? When I'm an invalid with a gimpy leg? Already did that!" she tried to get up quickly, but then stumbled, Mako catching her. "See what I mean?!"

"Okay it's because of your past, but you have to earn our trust again" the fire bender said. "We only trust you when it comes to medical quick fixes, not to watch our backs..." the expression on Kala's face broke Bolin's heart all over again. Tears began to form in the corner of her eyes, but she circumvented them right away.

"Fine" she said, slowly getting up and stabilizing herself "Do what you want...just don't expect me to give you 'medical quick fixes' anytime soon..." she hobbled out, passing Asami and Korra on the way out. "Watch yourselves...I might stab you in the back..." she scowled and moved to the meditation pavilion for peace and quiet.

Bolin shot his brother a look that would make anybody's blood freeze "Great Mako, she thinks that we don't trust her!"

"Not fully anyway...she's killed a lot of people and make lots of orphans" he crossed his arms and leaned on the wall.

"People change Mako! She got out of that group and put her life on track!" the young earth bender shouted.

"But then she joined them again and hurt my girlfriend!"

"It's not like she hurt me directly Mako!" Asami said, the mechanical arm pointing its finger at him "She had nothing to do with it!"

"She was there and could have stopped it! But she stood back doing nothing!"

It was then Asami slapped him down with her human arm "She didn't do anything because she COULDN'T do it! When she bends somebody's iron in their blood, it makes her sick and weak!" Mako rubbed his cheek and remained silent, each of them going to a separate part of the island to cool off.

When nightfall came, they were calm and they apologized to each other, except Kala was nowhere to be found. "Maybe we'll find her in the city" Korra said, getting in the car. When in reality, she was talking to Tenzin.

"Do you think that people can change?" she asked the elderly air bender, looking like she was about to cry.

"Indeed, but they cannot change over night. It will take time" he put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I isolated myself in the closet for over a year to get over my old ways...and yet I still went back when I found out that Bolin didn't love me like I loved him..."

"That is understandable, but I believe that feelings do change as well" he smiled, remembering the day Pema confessed her love to him.

"What do you mean?" she was unsure of what he was talking about, and she wanted to find out more.

"When it comes to love, there are many different kinds...such as brotherly love-love one feels for a sibling or great friend, physical love-which is self explanatory, parental love-one that a person feels for their offspring and many different kinds of love that I cannot begin to describe."

"I-I think I can understand that" she shivered on a warm night. That to her was an omen that could not be ignored. Then Tenzin got the call that Korra's friends were in jail, she set out with him and met Korra at the front desk of the police station. Tarrlok had looked in her direction and at a wanted poster, then back at her. He knew what she was and had officers tackle her to the ground.

"Tarrlok! What is the meaning of this?!" Tenzin demanded.

"She's the Iron Maiden of Yao Dai!" he said "She's a wanted felon and has multiple warrants on her!"

Tenzin stammered, knowing that he could do nothing to save the girl. The previous night, the police raided the underground cage bending ring, taking the fighters, trainers and betters into custody. He let out a painful sigh of defeat as Korra looked on in astonished horror as the metal benders dragged her to the holding cells. They passed cells that held prisoners from the 'Equalist' rally and three looked up "Kala?! What are you doing here?!" Mako asked.

"Seems like the cage fighters turned me in, Fire-boy...gonna get the gallows probably..."

Tarrlok lifted her up roughly and stood her before him "Indeed...but you have a chance to win your freedom. There's going to be a free-for-all fight to the death for all you illegal bending fighters. If you win, we'll have you pardoned of all crimes, but if you lose we will see you die in the arena. Of course, it's your choice" he turned to walk away but Kala spoke up.

"I'll do it! But I want those three" she pointed to Asami, Bolin and Mako "to be set free regardless if I win or not!"

"That bargain seems a little steep...but I want something more. What's in it for me?"

Biting her lip, Kala added "If I win...you also get to make a public spectacle of me...whip me until I fall unconscious. Public humiliation seems to be your forte..." with a smile, Tarrlok agreed and they shook on it. As agreed, the trio was freed and Kala taken to the cage bending area.

Three days later, the free-for-all would take place in the pro bending arena (or what was left of it), a ten foot high cage had been erected around the ring. Spectators filled the stands, benders and non-benders alike. Most of the non-benders were Amon's supporters just waiting for the blood bath to begin. The contenders waited in the terminals to be announced when a spectator ran through looking for one of the contenders. Mako looked frantically around and he found Kala waiting in full fighting gear, her hair in the trademark two buns of the Maiden. "Please don't go through with this!" he begged her, grabbing her shoulders.

"What do you care what I do? You can never fully trust me, remember?" she brushed him off and scoffed.

"I'm sorry I said that!" he took one of her hands in both of his "Bolin won't even look at me much less talk to me anymore!"

"Are you really sorry, or are you just apologizing so little brother will be okay?" she mocked him.

He growled angrily, but then let his anger go in the form of steam coming out of his nose "Korra's missing...Bolin's mad at me about that too..."

Kala hadn't heard this yet and said "What? In case you've forgotten, I've been incarcerated for the past three days" Mako now had her full attention.

"Tarrlok said that she ran away from Amon...called her a coward and now everybody's against her...Bolin loves her, but she loves me and I love both Korra and Asami and everything's just so confusing..."

"I'm sorry, but I can't not do this..." she put his hands back to him and the contenders were called.

Tarrlok was the announcer and he explained "The rules are simple-kill each other until one is left standing. Even if the winner is mortally wounded, we will come in and pull you out and try to save you" then a gong sounded, signaling the start of the battle royale. There were weapons scattered on the floor in case they didn't want to use bending-swords, knives and other things. Kala's eyes searched the ten contestants for the youngest- 12 year old Skoochy, another earth bender. The poor kid had been taken from the streets and was scared out of his mind. She found him, being cornered by a group of fire benders.

She took a running start and slid, making the earth beneath their feet move and topple the group. She took a hold of the boy's arm and said "Stick with me and I'll let you win!"

Skoochy looked up at her with bloodshot eyes, tired from crying and not sleeping "Bu-but what about you?! I don't wanna kill you!"

"Trust me, you won't have to!" she sent a rock flying at an advancing water bender with a curved sword, who expertly dodged it and sent a chuck of ice her way. "Persistent little..." she trapped his ankles in the earth, and a passing fire bender shot him full of lightning, frying him instantly into death. Scoochy cried out in fear, as he saw three benders about to make him into minced meat, but Kala made a rock tent with four sides around him.

The benders then began to climb the diamond shaped enclosure, hoping to get an aerial shot at those on the ground. Then, the same fire bender that killed the water bender sent a shock of electricity through the metal, causing all five of the benders to fall down dead. There were four people left- Skoochy, Kala, the fire bender and a water bender.

The four stood in a small circle and Kala spoke to the fire bender "I'd expect to see you in the final four, Mali..." then turning to the water bender "Hama..." the female water bender scoffed and pointed at the little earth bender.

"It's so like you to want to protect the little one, Kala...you always had a soft spot for kids...but let's see how well you can protect him with two people attacking!" she sent a stream of water her way, wrapping it around her waist and tossing her aside to the bars. Kala was knocked off balance, and was face down on the floor a moment. While getting up quickly, she noticed that the circular earth bending slabs from the pro bending league were still in place-a fact that was over looked by Tarrlok.

"Skoochy! Tiger-Horse stance!" she shouted out, the confused and terrified boy doing exactly as she told him. To everybody's surprise, two of the slabs levitated up and were shot directly at the heads of the benders, with a little extra power from Kala. The slabs hit hard in the heads of Mali and Hama, causing enough brain damage that would equal a lobotomy.

Tarrlok's voice boomed out of the crowd and said "Since Mali and Hama are indefinitely out of commission, they do not need to be killed...if the remaining two contenders will halt their fighting long enough to have the bodies removed..." officials came out of the corridors and one by one, six dead bodies and two invalids were filed out.

Bolin and Mako sat next to each other, sickened by the spectacle taking place. Having known both of the remaining contestants. "Oh god..." Bolin bit his lip and swallowed hard. He was so mad at Tarrlok and everybody who willingly came here that his knuckles were white. "Please don't tell me she's going to..."

Mako spoke up "Have faith in her...I do..."

Skoochy looked up at Kala with wide eyes and intense fear "A-are ya gonna kill me?" he was shaking so bad that his knees were knocking against one another.

"I said I'd let you win didn't I?" she gave him a sad smile, removing the cap from his head and kissing his sweaty forehead. Her body then went rigid, thousands of blood droplets forming from the pores. She let out cries of pain and pleasure-not that she enjoyed the feeling of her blood being forced out of her body, pleasure that she was showing Tarrlok that he couldn't get the satisfaction of torturing her.

The full moon shone through the announcer's box and Tarrlok was very angry. He hissed "That girl..." he was half tempted to blood bend the boy's body into a heart attack to kill him, but a steady hand on the shoulder was all that was needed to calm him down. "Amon..."

"Calm yourself, Tarrlok...if you kill the boy, the entire city will be in an uproar and riots will start again" the masked man took his hand off the water bender's shoulder and said "don't let that girl die either. I want to see her pay for her defiance..."

Over the intercom Tarrlok announced "Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you your winners! Both earth benders Skoochy and Kala!" then Kala released herself from the iron pushing out her blood and Skoochy ran into her arms. Both of them were laughing and crying at the same time, and their friends sighed with relief.

The cage then came down, with Bolin scooping up Kala in his arms and swinging her around. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"I'm not out of the woods yet...remember the whipping I promised Tarrlok I'd let him do?"

"You can't! I wont let you!" he protested, but he was silenced with a hard punch to the gut.

"I'm sorry, but if I don't he'll go after everybody again...I don't want the Hell I put myself through to be for nothing..." she met Tarrlok outside, where he tied her wrist together and dangled her by them from a nearby tree, so that her feet barely touched the ground.

"I am so going to enjoy this..." Tarrlok grinned wickedly and he formed a water whip. He got in really close and said "If you don't scream out, I'll tell you where I hid Korra..."

Kala gasped and bit her lip knowing that she had to at least try to not scream. "Go ahead..." her body tensed and the first crack of the whip stung worse than a sting from a buzzard wasp. She let out a squeak, but nothing of significance passed her lips, then another and another whiplash came. The sun was rising and sweat was falling down from the bound girl's body, mixing with blood falling from her back. Finally Bolin couldn't take anymore and he stepped in, catching the whip in his arm.

"She's been out for half an hour! That was the deal, wasn't it?!"

Tarrlok scoffed and disbanded the whip while Mako shot a small flame at the rope to let her fall into his arms. "I am a man of my word. She's been pardoned of all her crimes..." he tossed them some balm "the wounds look like they're beginning to fester, so I'd get her checked out. Kala started to come to, and looked up to Mako and whispered something in his ear. His eyes widened at the news and she laid back down.

In a weak voice, she asked him "Can you trust me now?" her cuts were ugly and still bleeding, some oozing a yellow-green pus.

Mako looked down at himself, ashamed that he said such hateful things to her "Yes...we can trust you...I never should have doubted you..."

She let out a laugh and said "Good...cause I won't be doing that again..." she then felt her be shifted to another person. Bolin's strong but gentle arms were warm, the rage he felt having been drained from him. "Hey Bo..."

"Don't talk...save your strength...we're takin' you back to Air Temple Island..."

Upon their return Asami was mortified to see the scars from the whipping "Oh my god! She went through with it?!"

Mako told her "Yeah...and she found out where Korra is" the Air Acolytes came out with a stretcher to take her to the infirmary to access the damage and stage of infection.


	5. Chapter 5

Doctor Lei came out of Kala's room with a grave look, his eyes downcast as he contemplated telling them the best way of breaking the bad news to the gathered young people. With a heavy sigh, he wiped the sweat from his hands and told them all to sit down. Many things had happened since Kala got sick- Korra had been found riding Naga's back, Asami had found out that Korra kissed Mako and Amon was on the stage of his end game. Han had stayed in her room to tend to her needs-feeding, bathing and making sure she has water. Things she had done on her own were now impossible. Whatever was ravaging her body took away her energy and ability to do so. Beside her bed were a line of syringes, all of them pain killers.

"Well? What do you say?" Bolin asked quietly.

The Doctor took off his glasses and cleaned them, saying "I don't know what's wrong with her, but whatever it is it's very painful. It will be a gift to have her another week or so..."

"It's killing her" Korra bit her lip, her fists clenching "Tarrlok will pay..."

"She left you instructions. For the next four days, the four of you are to come in one at a time-meaning one person per day at noon and tell her your favorite memory from your life. Can you do that?"

Unanimously they all replied "Yes" in somber tones.

"Good. In all my years as a Doctor, I have seen many a last request denied and their spirits clinging to this world as twisted, disgusting forms of themselves bent on revenge. Do not allow Miss Kala to suffer like that...or she will torment you the rest of your days" he packed his things and said "Han will stay here and provide end of life care for her. She doesn't want you all seeing her as she is now, so a curtain will be put in place. She wants you to remember her as she once was" he bowed to Tenzin and took his leave.

The next day exactly at noon, Mako went into the room, the dark non transparent curtain hiding the figures behind it. "Hey Mako" came the strained voice.

"How'd you know it was me?" he asked, taking a seat in the chair provided for him on the other side of the curtain.

"Being so close to death, I can see and hear things that you can't..." a horrid coughing fit was heard and rustling of syringes followed, then silence "I wanna tell you what I see, but I made a promise that I wouldn't..."

"Okay..." Mako thought hard of his favorite memory and said "It's not exactly one memory, but it has to do with the same thing. Its about when my mother was pregnant with Bolin and when he was born" a slight blush came across his face and a genuine chuckle.

"That's fine...I have all day" he heard her sit up in the bed softly and she listened intently.

"It was spring when Mom called me into the dining room of our home. Her and Dad were practically glowing with pride as they told me that I was gonna have a little brother or sister" he looked back at the memory and smiled, the thought of a tiny version of him running around all excited, not a care in the world with his innocence intact "I even asked when the baby would come and where it came from!" the three shared a laugh.

"Go on" came the dying girl from the safety of her curtain "You said you had more to it."

"Yeah! When the baby came, I was so excited to find out it was a boy that I went in to see it without Bo having his first bath. I thought something was wrong with him when I saw him covered in blood and I actually cried like I never cried before!" he was now laughing so hard that he was crying. "Then Dad explained that's how all babies are bought into this world and showed me after Bolin was cleaned off that he was just fine..."

"That's a great memory, Mako...I'm tired, can you please shut the door on your way out?"

"Sure" he was still giggling on his way out, a memory having been awakened in him that he had long forgotten.

"Just promise me one thing" she then stated the promise she wanted him to keep and he agreed.

The next day, Asami came in and sat in the empty chair "How are you today?" she nervously said, having no idea how to speak with a dying girl.

"Like I'm about to knock on death's door any moment now" she weakly scoffed and the two girls shared a laugh.

"Your bite still has some sting left to it" the raven haired girl said.

"I may be dyin' but I have to be me until the end right?"

"That's right" Asami said softly "I know the memory I want to tell you about."

"Go on, then" the clanking of chopsticks against a plate and a soft slurping sound came from the other side of the curtain.

"This was when my mother was alive" Asami started, crossing her legs "her, Dad and I went to a volcano in the Earth Kingdom and we were looking for Panda Lilies-a very rare flower. This was before Dad created the Sato-Mobile and we were middle class citizens, and he presented her with a very expensive rose quartz ring with some money he saved up from working" she imagined the thing, so delicately carved with a rose shape. "I don't know where it is now, but if I do find it again I certainly want it back!"

"Han, will you give this to her?" was heard from behind the curtain and Han came to Asami's side and gave her the very ring she spoke of.

"Where did you get this?!" Asami's eyes began to water, a torrent of emotions mixing together, the girl not knowing which one to feel first.

"Your brother forced it onto me" she simply said "I thought it would be the right thing to do to return it to a person who would appreciate it most" Soon, Han came by with some papers for Asami to sign. After reading over the document Asami forced the curtain open and stared at the dying girl in shock.

"You're giving me your arm?!" she shrieked.

"I'll be dead in a few days. I won't be using it!" the dark circles under Kala's eyes heavy, but the eyes themselves were undaunted by their current predicament.

"But-but my mechanical arm works fine!" Asami protested.

"I heard you say that it's too bulky and sometimes it does things other than you want it to. The only problem I see with it is that we have two different skin tones..."

Now Asami was fully crying "I don't care! I'll take your arm as is!" sobbing, she signed the papers, remembering that she read in a medical journal that attaching body parts from cadavers to living people was widely accepted and effective. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome, just promise one thing..."

"Anything! Just name it!"

On the third day, Korra came in "Hey...Asami told us what you wanna do for her...it's really cool" she twisted her wolf tail in her fingers out of nervousness.

"That's nothing, really. What's your favorite memory?"

"When I found Naga. All the kids were afraid of me when they found out I was the Avatar and wouldn't let me play with them. They ran away when I came near and she paddled right up to me when she was a puppy. I tried to shake her off, but she followed me home and wouldn't leave. So we put her in the pen with the rest of the pups to keep warm" the Avatar took a moment to remember how small Naga was compared to now "then one day I got really sick and almost died, but Naga kept me warm and saved my life" said Polarbeardog poked her giant head through the open window and nuzzled Kala.

"I can see that she's a good animal and an even better friend" the animal's cold wet nose tickled her chin and Kala couldn't help but laugh. "Just promise me one thing..." she gave the Avatar her wish and it was accepted unconditionally.

On the fourth day at noon, Bolin sat down and reached around on Kala's side of the curtain and felt her hand, grasping it tenderly. "Afternoon, Kala" he tried to sound comforting but his voice was cracking. Earlier that day, Han had told them that she would be gone by nightfall.

"Hey Bo..." she said, smiling weakly and barely audible. "What's goin' on?"

"Nothin'...just been thinkin' about my favorite memory" he interlaced their fingers, even the icy cold touch of her hand couldn't make him shy away from his friend.

"What is it?" she asked him, not even having energy to blush at his touch.

"Nah...it's stupid..."

She giggled and said "I know that, you goofball. Tell it to me anyway..."

Trembling with fear and sadness he mouthed the words "Oh Spirits...", and composing himself "Well, it was when Me, Mako, Mom and Dad went to the beach when I was six. We spent the entire day swimming, playing in the sand, poking the pentapi with sticks and almost giving Mom a heart attack when we came down with 'penta-pox'!" he let out a roar of laughter, one that he really needed.

"That sounds like it was fun, Bo" she said, very tiredly.

"It was! We put the pentapi on our bodies and played like we were sick! Mom got mad at Dad because he helped us do it!" he chuckled some more and added "We had to clean out the sand from her shoes for that..." she chuckled and made him promise "I swear I won't ever do that..."

"Good...that way you'll be a good man. Also, promise me whoever you end up with for a wife, you'll treat her like a queen..."

Bolin reached out to touch the curtain, to pull it back so he made eye contact with her as he swore to it, but like her on that night she found him in Naruk's noodle shop practiced restraint. "Until the day I die, I'll treat my wife like a queen..." he heard a rustling about from the other side of the curtain when Han came around and asked him to leave. With a trembling hand, Bolin let go and said "She's gone, isn't she?"

"Afraid so" Han said picking up the phone to call his father so the arm could be prepared to be severed, preserved and transported to the hospital. Bolin quietly walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. To his surprise, all of them were there- Mako, Asami, Korra and all the air temple dwellers bowed their heads in a silent prayer of farewell.

Bolin hadn't noticed until someone said "You're crying Bo..."

"Huh?" he reached up and touched his face, where indeed he was crying softly "So are all of you" he pointed out.

Korra said "Hey...did she make anyone promise something?"

They all looked up and said in unison "Never waste a kiss..."

A few days later Mako banged on the door to his brother's room "C'mon Bo...we'll be late for the funeral..."

The bags under his eyes said it all, but Bolin said "I'm not goin'..." and groaned, rolling over when the door to his room was kicked in.

The elder brother sat on his younger brother's bed and cuddled with him, like he did when they were little. "I know it's hard Bo. She was your friend most of all...do you think she'd forgive you for missing this?"

After some thought Bolin muttered "No" and he put on his clothes. Asami was in her prettiest dress, the new arm in a sling. Doctor Lei had told her not to move it much until he said it was okay to start doing exercises with it. Kala had given her an arm to replace the one she lost, and her body was responding well to the surgery. She could even move the fingers a little bit. Perhaps Kala gave her some of her will power along with her arm.

Ever since that day when Asami said "I care about you" rather than "I love you" to Mako, she knew that he loved Korra. To say the least, she was a bit angry at Mako for fibbing to her when he told her that he saw Korra as just a friend but seeing how happy they were, she couldn't stay mad for long. This was their silent break-up; no shouting, no tears. Just a mutual understanding that he did care about her as a friend, but not love her like he loved Korra.

She stood on one side of Bolin, where his brother took the other side all three of them holding hands. The remains were wrapped up in a cloth and placed upon a wooden alter to be burned. Tenzin, General Iroh, Katara and General Bumi stood on the four sides of the thing holding torches "Does anybody have words about the departed before we proceed?" Trembling, Bolin stood up and gulped. He had so much to say, but he couldn't possibly put it into words.

"Take your time, Bo" Asami and Mako both squeezed his hands to comfort him and he took a deep breath and was ready to begin.

"In the short time that I've known Kala, she was a great friend to me...we will never know her past or her future, but we were lucky to have her in the present. I personally hurt her feelings and because of that, she made the wrong choices but she put herself on the right path again. I don't believe that she was ever truly evil, just trying to survive the best she could given her circumstances" he let a soft, sad smile to his brother "just like another great person I know...now just as she set me free, I shall do the same..." he sat back down and tiny tear streams streaked down his face.

"Then by the power vested in us and by the four elements- water, earth, fire and air" the four pall-bearers set their respective corners ablaze and they all watched their friend pass from this world and scatter across the wind, free from the weakened body to go wherever the wind takes her.


End file.
